Monday Melange

In no particular order, here's some of the stuff swirling around in my head:

• I'm about to go on a run. But I don't want to run. But I'm gonna. Why? Because even though I'm not particularly motivated right now, and am quite unsure as to what kind of goal I want to set, I know that movement = sanity for me. Enough said!
• FarmVille vs Farm Town -- tell me which you prefer and why.
• It's supposed to be 105 degrees here today. In my opinion that is TOO DARNED HOT!
• I've just discovered Moleskine journals and I LOVE THEM!
  
• Did I mention that it's gonna be super duper blazing hot here today?
• On that note, I'd better get out and run before it gets too hot to go.

Have a wonderful Monday, everyone!

Hawaii, part 3

When you consider that we took more than 200 pictures, I'm really editing down what I post here. But it feels like too many pictures to me. Bear with me -- these are the last of the lot.


One of several delicious meals at our favorite restaurant on Maui, Mala.


We toured an organic farm where lunch was served under this rustic gazebo. It was delish!


One of the trip highlights was the entire family going scuba diving. We explored a reef about 35 feet down -- it was lovely!


I buy one of these metal cars each time we visit Hawaii. This is the view as we left Paia on our next to last day in town. Incidentally, Hillary Duff was in Paia that day, but we never found her.

Thanks for bearing with me. It was a wonderful vacation with my wonderful family!

Hawaii, part 2

You've gotta get a picture by the giant banyan tree in Lahaina, right?


Austin made it all the way across this branch on his 3rd try. Gymnastics continues to provide benefits!


Didn't see this till after he'd made it across -- oops!


Tucker became fast friends with the most darling girl on the island at the BEST shave ice place we've ever tried!


Building sandcastles is Tucker's and my idea of fun at the beach. (So is swimming underwater in the ocean, but that's tougher to depict!)

Part 3 coming soon...

Hawaii!

It's taken forever to get these pictures uploaded. But seeing them again makes me smile -- it really was a wonderful vacation!

We biked down the volcano, which was billed as the only 28-mile bike ride where you can gain weight doing it, as it is LITERALLY downhill the entire way! This picture was taken when we stopped for lunch. As usual, my daredevil family was completely comfortable with something that made me incredibly nervous!


Still in love after almost 20 years of marriage!


It's good to exercise while on vacation, and it's way easier when you have an ocean breeze and an ocean view!


It's also good to eat healthfully while on vacation.


We went ocean wakeboarding. Here's Tucker jumping the wake.

Part 2 coming soon...

Quote for the day

Life is not about waiting for the storm
to pass… it’s about learning how to dance
in the rain.
Vivian Greene

Tucker in High School Musical

Tucker was in his first real play last weekend and he was wonderful. His comment was "I've never had so much fun in my entire life" so I think there may be more plays in his future.

For any Trader Joe's fans

My friend Linda won a Trader Joe's recipe contest!!!

Here's her recipe:

Crunchy Chicken Sandwiches
Serves 4

2 cups Trader Joe's Organic Broccoli Slaw
1 Tbsp. Chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp. Trader Joe's Champagne Pear Vinaigrette With Gorgonzola
4 Trader Joe's Chili Lime Chicken Burgers
4 Multi-Grain or Honey Wheat Hamburger Buns

Mix Organic Broccoli Slaw, cilantro, and Champagne Pear Vinaigrette
With Gorgonzola. Heat Chili Lime Chicken Burgers according to package
directions. Place one burger on each bun bottom. Top burger with
Organic Broccoli Slaw mixture and close bun.

And here's what Trader Joe's had to say:

Aloha, Linda!

On behalf of the Trader Joe's Round Table Recipe Review Panel, I'd like
to formally congratulate you (and your recipe) on being chosen as one of
the top 3 winners of the 2009 HiiP Recipe Showdown!

Your recipe for the Crunchy Chicken Sandwiches will be featured on
traderjoes.com, and we would like to get your permission to feature your
name on the recipe card. Please let us know if that is ok with you.

Also, we have a nifty prize to help you create even HiiPer recipes (if
that's possible). Please reply with your mailing address and we will
send it out to you.

Congratulations again, and thanks for submitting a truly HiiP recipe!

Sincerely,
Emily, Marketing Dept.

Photo problems :(

I keep trying to post photos from vacation and have run into one problem after another. And I told myself I wasn't writing until I actually posted the pics. I hate it when I'm stuck like this.

Today

Today I am grateful.
Today I am appreciative.
Today I am 24 years sober.
Today I am amazed!

Wednesday Melange

• Summer here in Nor Cal is tomato season, and I have the BEST gazpacho recipe, in case anyone's interested in seeing it. Made with home-grown tomatoes, it's out-of-this-world good!
• My eating is a bit schizophrenic, which is why I can eat fresh gazpacho and an organic corn tortilla for dinner, followed by a nice pack of Twizzlers.
• In an attempt to improve my eating habits, I'm taking a four week course titled "Back to Basics" at Healthy Habits in Roseville. The class is based on the work of Paul Chek, whose writings I've studied. We'll see if they can convince me that meat is an essential part of a healthy diet, but I'm ready to listen and learn. The first class was last night and I think it's going to be good.
• Have I written about The Daily Plate? If not, I really should have. It's on the Livestrong website and is a free food tracking system. It's the best I've ever seen, and I'm trying to consistently log my food choices. Got a bit off track over the weekend, but I'm back and entering what I eat, the good and the bad. If you sign up there we can be friends -- I'm "lpglives."
• I still don't know what's next for me, fitness-wise. I do best when I have a goal, but I can't figure out something I'm willing to commit to. For now I'm kind of thinking I'm gonna run 15 - 20 miles per week and maybe do a couple of P90X videos and some AOS kettlebell workouts too. I'm considering boxing camp, taking a jazz dance class, maybe another marathon, or ... or ... well I just don't know! When I do know, I'll be sure to share.
• Planning to getting back to reading weblogs again. I think I put too many in my feed reader and just got burned out. Actually it's not that I'm not reading, cuz sometimes I do, but I just haven't had the energy to post any comments. This is probably changing though, because I can feel it shifting.
• I wish I knew of a word for "mixture" that started with a W, so my Wednesday Melange would be alliterative. :)

That's it friends. Have a blessed day!

Monday Melange

• This weekend was a whirlwind, with younger son in a play (he was Zeke in High School Musical Jr.), my sister and her kids up to see his performance, and my older son leaving for 10 days at camp. No wonder I'm tired today!
• Tim played golf yesterday (something he does often) and I walked the course with him (something I almost never do). We had a GREAT time, and it was so fun to experience the game Tim loves in the place he loves.
  
• News flash: poor food choices + that special time of the month = feeling ridiculously bloated! Need to remind myself that it's physically impossible to gain 100 pounds in one weekend. :)
• I have a slight (cough) addiction to Mafia Wars on Facebook. So now I'm limiting my time on the site, and once I hit 501 family members, I plan to go back to a more normal and less addictive relationship with the game. ;)
• Back to ironing ... more soon ...
  

Still here

I'm still here, just focusing on other stuff for the moment. Next week I'll post Hawaii photos and perhaps share some of what I'm doing (playing with a new fitness toy, loving a food tracking site, about to celebrate a milestone AA bday).

Enjoy the sunshine, everyone!

Best video ever!

Taco Bell Goes Green!

Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Monday Melange

• Happy birthday, Tim!!! You are an amazing husband, father, and man, and I hope this year is filled with experiences and opportunities that surprise and delight you!
• We're back from vacation. Couldn't get to sleep till almost 4 in the morning, and was up at 8, so getting some rest tonight shouldn't be a problem, right?
• Looks like running in Hawaii kept weight under control, even though yesterday was a day of processed indulgences (Twizzlers, Doritos, Reese's Pieces). Today I'm back to logging food on Daily Plate. Don't know if exercise will happen, with temps predicted at 105 and low energy, it may be another rest day. :)
• Our dogs are happy to see us.
• So are our tomatoes. I sat beside a Sun Gold plant this morning and ate one tomato after the other, hot and fresh off the vine -- yum!
• Although I ate a little fish while on Maui and still don't want to label my diet, if pinned down I'd say I'm a vegetarian who occasionally eats fish. Turns out -- surprise! -- I like how I eat! But not labeling what I am makes the whole food thing easier, which is a very good thing.

Monday Melange

• Running in Hawaii is tough and wonderful. It's tough because you start to sweat the minute you start to move. But it's wonderful cuz IT'S HAWAII!!!
• There's a mirror in our condo that I want to steal and take back home. In it, I look really good. I still look 48, but I look strong and healthy and like I said, really good! Tim assures me that that's what I look like. Hmmmmm, I may have to reconsider my view of me, or may have to obtain some tools and bring the special mirror home with me. ;)
  
• If you didn't know me 10 years ago, you may be surprised to know that I was quite homemaker-ish and pretty conservative. For example I used to like Brighton jewelery, but over time it seemed a little too staid and fussy for my tastes. Went into the Brighton in Whaler's Village last night. Ummmm, yeah, they've updated some of their styles and me likeee a LOT! Got 2 necklaces and a pair of earrings, and may be heading back for a little something else before the trip is over. :)
• It felt really good to run today. The last few days have been quite active with tons of walking and swimming, and 28 miles of biking (all downhill) but I feel more like me when I run.
• We spent the day in Lahaina, with lots of time spent in the art galleries. I LOVE that my family loves art. There's a Russian artist -- Roman Czerwinski -- whose works were AMAZING. We met him and I plan to go back to learn more about what he does. His 4"x4" canvases sell for $299, so we won't be taking any of his stuff home, but I'll drink it in while we're here!
• We're off to the ocean...happy Monday, friends!

Responses

Colette asked for garden pictures. This is our front planter box. It has gardenias, bacopa, and platycodon, aka Balloon Flowers which I LOVE! Don't know if the photo from my phone does the flowers justice, but they really are beautiful. More photos when we return from vacation.

Katie suggested video of lunge walking. I'd be happy to take some, but I've had to cut out lunge walking until my calf strain is gone.

Four Simple Ways to Make the Most of Your Day

I found this at OnSimplicity.net.

Whether we like it or not, days bleed into one another and weeks slip by quickly. I hate the feeling of looking back on a month and thinking, “Wait… Now what did I do again? Anything?” One way to ease your mind that your days have been well spent is to focus less on checking tasks off a list, and more on making each day valuable to you and to the world.

Do One Thing That Scares You

This one has become a cliche, but that doesn’t make it irrelevant. (Please don’t run into traffic just to get heart rate up, though.) Seek out fears that may be holding you back from trying new things. Talk to that cute girl on the bus. Negotiate a deal. Present an idea at work. Attempt a ridiculously complex meal. When you regularly do things that kind of freak you out, you stretch your boundaries and create a much bigger, more rewarding comfort zone to play in. “Safe” and “stuck” don’t have to be synonymous.

Do One Thing That Soothes You

The world doesn’t have to take care of you: you can take care of yourself. You need to take care of yourself. If you’re angry, find a way to release it. If you’re frustrated, do something nice for yourself. If you’re tired and cranky, enjoy a treat instead of martyring yourself for no good reason. Take a moment, just once a day, to make yourself feel good, and remind yourself that you’re responsible for your own happiness.

Do One Thing for Someone Else

Being selfless feels good—more than one study has demonstrated this. (Kind of throws a kink in the “selflessness” of the act, but we won’t worry about that…) Taking time to do a kindness for another person reminds you of the reasons you have to be thankful, all while strengthening your relationships with others. If you give and truly expect nothing in return, it’s rare to have any regrets about it.

Do One Thing for the Future

The future is a pretty fluid concept here: next week, next month, your 80th birthday… You can transfer funds to your savings accout, spend time talking with your child, do some yoga as part of a weight loss plan, anything that gets you one step closer to your goals for the future. Regardless of whether you’re learning French for next year’s trip or making a quilt to be passed down for generations, you need to stay connected with your future on a regular basis. That’s where some of your best moments are yet to be realized.

Lovely.

Melange!

• This summer has been better than any other for me thus far. Why? Because my kids are involved in things that make them happy, rather than just sitting in front of the TV. Also it helps that I'm learning how to stand up for myself.
  
• I'm still seeing the counselor and it's helping. Can't tell you exactly how it works, but I'm feeling stronger inside than I have in quite some time.
• Hey guess what? I'm a level 67 in Mafia Wars! Yeah, I'm still having fun with it. And I'm NOT a video game sort of girl.
• Also uncharacteristic? My newfound love of UFC. Maybe "love" is too strong of a word. But when my kid jokingly asks me if I want to watch with him (expecting a resounding NO) and I stay transfixed for 30 minutes, you know I'm liking it. I told Austin that I like ultimate fighting for the same reason I like jazz dancing. "Huh?" was his reaction. To me both "sports" exemplify grace, agility, strength, and athleticism that I find deeply appealing. (But I don't like it when anyone is punching anyone else's head -- that makes me sad.)
• The Daily Plate at Livestrong.com is amazing for food logging. My girlfriend Laura told me about it, and I figured that ONCE AGAIN I'd try tracking what I eat. (Why do I run so much? So I don't have to moderate my food intake!) I'm really impressed with the site. It has some of the not-so-common foods I eat (Spiru-Soy from Vitamin Shop, Kombucha). However, I get a little weird when I start logging food. Like I don't want to eat cuz then I have to log it. And that didn't work well yesterday as I headed out on a 7 mile run. I bonked at mile 4, so I came home, ate, and then finished. Today I'm trying to learn from my mistakes. :)
  

Thoughts

As I sit here eating my lunch (Amy's Indian Palak Paneer and an ice cold Diet Pepsi) (yeah, I started drinking them again), I'm feeling really at peace. Both kids are at Sunsplash (a water park) with friends, and won't be home for a couple of hours. During this time I'll plan tonight's workouts (I train clients on Wednesday evenings), do a little garden maintenance, fold some laundry, and just enjoy being at home. As I normally run on adrenalin and caffeine, and try to get as much done as humanly possible, "peaceful" is not my normal state of mind. But I'm really digging it.

Hey guess what? When you run more and clean up your diet, your waist comes back! In case you thought that increased exercise and decreased food doesn't work, I'm here to tell you that it does.

But getting back into running hasn't been easy. It's humbling to feel spent after a run that a few months ago would have been a piece of cake. Yesterday I ran while Austin was at boxing camp. I was tired. It was warm and windy. And boxing is in an industrial area that is less than scenic, with warehouses galore. But yesterday was so fragmented that if I didn't run then, I couldn't run at all. So I ran. Not every run has to be glorious. (Goodness sakes -- if that were a requirement I would have stopped running decades ago!)

Time to head out into the garden...